Welcome friends! Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit. If you found your way here through my P31 Encouragement for Today devotion, “Living in the Hear and Now,” I’m so glad you stopped by. I hope you’ll stay a while and make yourself comfortable.
One of my deepest desires is to be a woman who listens to God. But, I don’t always get it right. Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s God talking or just me thinking. Ever wondered that?
I also I admit, I’m not always crazy about what I sense God telling me to do. Yet I’ve learned over the years that when I listen to God, I discover His best for me. And I grow in my trust in Him.
I’ve seen again and again that His ways lead to His goodness. And when I follow Him, His mercy follows me.
As I shared in my devotion today, I went through a season of learning how to really listen closely so that I could experience a day by day abiding in God’s presence and plans. I thought I’d been listening to Him all along, but my prayers reflected that I wanted to know where to invest my efforts. In a still small voice God showed me that He wanted my ears more than my efforts.
He was more concerned about character than my calendar. I realized that many times I’d sought God for the larger plans in life, convinced that if I figured out what He wanted me to do I could become the person He created me to be.
Have you ever thought, “If only God would show me what job to take; what man to marry; what church to attend – then my life would be complete and I could serve Him with my whole heart”?
The problem is sometimes we get a glimpse of where He wants us to go and then assume we know how to get there. I’ve made that mistake many times and then wondered why I wasn’t getting anywhere.
Jesus depended on the Father for the large and fine print written in His life plan. He listened closely and obeyed quickly. John 5:19 reflects His absolute dependence: “The Son can do nothing by Himself; he can do only what He sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also.”
Like Jesus, we will discover God’s purpose for our lives through dependent hearts that seek to listen to His. We will find out what’s on God’s calendar and part of our calling when we live in the hear and now – listening for His voice and obeying it each day, in every here and now.
Questions to Consider
- Do I read my Bible so that God’s words and ways are familiar to me?
- Do I intentionally listen for God’s voice or do I assume I know what He wants me to do?
- If God were to speak to me, would I recognize His voice?
- Is my mind so full of worries that my thoughts drown out the possibility of hearing God’s thoughts?
Steps to Take
- Take time now to quiet your heart and your thoughts.
- Be still and acknowledge that God is God and you are not.
- Tell God your desire to hear Him today and then ask Him to speak to your heart.
- Share with Him your plans for the day and then ask Him to show you His.
- Give God permission to interrupt your thoughts and agenda and lead you in a different direction if He wants to.
- Get ready for a day filled with adventure and companionship as you walk hand in hand with your Maker.
Verses to Ponder
1 Samuel 3:10, “The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Psalm 119:16, “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
John 14:31, “But the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”
Isaiah 55:2-3, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live….”
Isaiah 50:4, “The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.”
If you want to become a woman who listens to God, and discover the adventure of faith He has for your life, you will want to read Lysa TerKeurst’s book What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.
I’m giving a copy away to one of you this week! It’s one of my all time favorite books and it kept me inspired to keep my promise to God that I will live in the hear and now! To enter to win, click on the word “comments’ right below this post and share your thoughts or questions about listening to God. Please include your email so I can find you if you win. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Anything. Just talk to me…I’m listening :0). I love reading what you have to say!
And be sure to come back tomorrow! I’ll be talking more about listening to God and offering a great free resource to help you discern His voice from your own. If you’re new, I want you to know there’s a place for you here and I’d love for you to join us! You can subscribe to updates via email in my sidebar, link up in the Google Friend Connect box or become a friend on Facebook!
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I'm a single mom with 5 amazing children. I need to be certain that I listen to God's voice because it essential for me to parent and make choices that are pleasing to Him and that will guide my children to godly living. At times, I feel that I'm so busy or have so much on my mind that I'm afraid I'm not listening as I should. Thank you for your words of encouragement today to "hear and now".
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Love this topic!! I went through a season of fear and anxiety two years ago and still have the occasional episode. I have been FORCED to depend on God in a moment-to-moment way! It has been VERY good for me. Hard, but good. I, too, struggle with whether it's "Him or me" (as far as hearing His voice) but I've found that if I assume it's Him and obey, the results are always a success, so why not just go for it?? And if I think, "Oh, I'll wait and see…." I notice that I can't get it off my mind, then I KNOW I better follow through! It's amazing how, when we earnestly seek Him, He is faithful to be found.
I love serving God, it's a never-ending journey and it's a blast!!
It is encouraging to know that I'm not the only one struggling with distinguishing Yahuveh's voice. This, combined with wanting to know everything in advance, increases my confusion. Thank you for elaborating on why we are not told in advance. Just trust. We don't have to look down at the keyboard to type. We automatically know what finger goes where because we have done it over and over again. That is where I want to get to. I can feel the exact point many times now when I turn "off" what I don't want to hear or feel, just like I change the news channel upon hearing some desolate news being broadcast. Please keep doing what your doing!!
Your article is so timely on the subject of listening with the heart to God's speaking. The next step is to obey His Word and find the joy that comes from being in the path of righteousness. I do want to respond daily to God's voice and today seems the best time to start this "habit." His Word is such a wonderful way to enjoy His presence.
Your blog post came at the perfect time today!! I had just finished my prayer time…asking God to reveal Himself more to me and what it is that HE wants for my life. I have plenty of ideas and they all have to do with serving Him…all good things, but I realize I'm only one person and He couldn't possibly be asking me to do them all.So, today He spoke to me, ever so gently, "Be still"…"listen"…"I will show you".
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My daily reading of Encouragement for Today has been so helpful in getting me to listen to God. I want so much to be like Samuel when God was calling him and he said yes Lord I am here. Ps. 37:7is another scripture which tells us to "be still and wait patiently for Him". I have that one posted in my office as a daily reminder. Katie ([email protected])
Thank you Renee for your encouraging words today. I am 13 weeks pregnant tomorrow! This is my third pregnancy, but this will be our first child. Having lost 2 really makes you have a different view of pregnancy, and it’s changed the way I view and listen to God. One might say that these experiences have really matured me in my walk. After the second one it was really hard to listen to God because my flesh was being torn in 50 different directions and no matter what people said nothing seemed to make a difference. I admit that I got lost after the second one and I was ignoring what God was saying and pointing me to. I was focusing on getting into really good shape and I was being vein about how I dressed and how my makeup and hair was. This made me feel better for a time, but then there’s always that little voice that is sometimes so quiet that you second guess if you really heard it or not. To skip forward a bit I started to come back to my walk with God, and my OBGYN wanted to put me on Clomid to help me get pregnant. At first I was ok with that, then that little voice kicked in, “If having children is the desire of your heart, won’t I give that to you when the time is right?” My answer had to be yes, so I decided not to go on the Clomid and I started telling people that Tim and I were trying to get pregnant and that when the Lord sees the time is right it will happen. Not 2 months after I started to voice that to people I had a positive pregnancy test. With that I was happy, scared, joyful, scared, so thankful, and oh…did I mention scared? Like we all do sometimes I was letting my brain run wild and fear was creeping in. I had to remind myself that God does not give us the spirit of fear, but it still kept showing up when I least expected it. One evening I was cooking dinner and I started to just break down, I was crying over my turkey chili and pleading with God, “Please don’t take this one away from me.” Then I heard a voice say, “I won’t.” It was a moment of absolute peace within me. This pregnancy has progressed differently then the others with my symptoms, meaning I have been really sick to my stomach, but it’s a joyful sickness. Everything about this one feels different and I am still at peace with everything. Praise God! I am looking for books to read and encourage me and my husband during this pregnancy that are built on God’s words. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and thank you for the time that you spend encouraging us with your blog and P31 devotions. My email address is [email protected]. Have a wonderful day and God bless! Smiles, Shelon M.
I must admit I half read the devotions that I get. Maybe not wanting to hear what they say? I know I need to spend way more time listening… Thanks for the gentle nudge!!
God used your devotional this morning to speak truth to me.
Thank you for sharing your obedience to Him!
Most of the time when I pray to God I spend that time giving Him suggestions on how to solve my problem. I don't listen enough. I am reminded by Him of the times He has answered my prayers without using any of my suggestions. I bow my head and ask His forgiveness for thinking I know a better way to solve things than He does. I pray that I will be more of a listener than a talker. The knowledge that He wants what is best for me encourages me to listen every moment of the day so that I won't make such a mess of things. I find that my suggestions never work out the way I thought they would, but God's always work out for the best.
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I had been praying for years for the courage to make contact with my half-brother. I had been adopted at birth and noone in my birthmother's family knew about me even though I grew up knowing about them. One morning last August, I woke up to hear God saying, "Today is the day". I knew immediately what God meant. I looked up and repeated, "Today is the day"? and God replied, "Yes, Today is the day". I said, "Okay, Lord, Today is the day". I got on the internet and could not find my brother listed and it took me a couple of weeks to locate him. But on September 5, 2010, I made contact with the brother I had never been able to claim and it has been the greatest journey of my life. I only wish, I had been more courageous, been a Believer who not only prayed, but listened much earlier in my life.
thank you so much for this blog today, I sent you a friend request on fb so I can follow you more 🙂 sweet blessings, I am constantly wondering in the midst of all the noise in my head how I can even hear my Lord when it is so loud in there. I enjoyed this morning looking out the windows at the trees and quieting my mind and it was wonderful as I asked the same questions about what should I do, say yes to etc and the answer was one I know and have heard before. great clarity and direction. Thank you Lord! Blessings to you and keep up the great writing cheri ure [email protected]
In terms of listening to God, the big thing for me is to separate out the religious aspect of reading my Bible and devotions from truly spending time in His presence. Just like a sheep that spends time with his shepherd to hear his voice calling, I have to be intentional about spending time truly communing and worshiping Him. Often as a busy Mom, I just want to fulfill my commitment (self-focused!) of daily bible reading to go about my day 🙁
I often times second guess myself but God has been gracious and given me validation that he was speaking to me. There are those times however, when I am not quite sure. Thank you for a place to share my struggles and see others sometimes struggle as well. I know to "Be still and know that He is God" is key!!!!!
I've never read your blog before, but I believe God lead me here today, because what you wrote was exactly what I needed to hear. Exactly! I've been struggling with kowing God's purpose for my life, wishing I could somehow be "more". But it is SO true that I need to be faithful in the little things of the here and now. Thank YOU for being faithful and writing these words. I have taken them to heart…
I am learning to listen to what God wants of me. I pray each day that I will do the right things, I too ask what the answer is, I thank God for the life he has given me and the strength to carry on through the rough spots in my life. Now I want to learn how to better hear Gods voice and directions. I sense when I do the thing that he wants me to do the wonderful feeling that I have done the what he wants.
Renee,
Your words were really speaking to me. I find myself more and more wanting to hear God but realizing my thoughts are on worries and concerns that I allow to fill my mind on daily or future things. Thanks for the great verses. I'll be spending more time reading those today on my lunch hour. Have a sweetly blessed Tuesday.
In Christ,
Angela
I really needed to hear this. I so often feel like I am struggling to hear the voice of God, but the truth is that I'm not always listening. I am usually listening for what I want to hear. This is not the way I plan to continue living my life and I know I need to break this habit. I don't want to be one of those people who gets to caught up in day to day routines that I can't see what God has in store for me.
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I so often have times of being restless. I am going to start taking your steps that are listed. I definitely like the 2nd one "Be still and acknowledge that God is God and I am not." The Lord is really tugging at my heart today that He is the one who is making me restless, because He wants me to stop…and follow His plan, but I need to be quiet and listen to His plan. He has always been faithful in showing me that when I am faithful with "my time" with Him He is faithful in giving me more time in getting the things that "need" to be done, completed. Yes Lord bring me to a place where I instantly hear Your beautiful still voice and experience Your peace within all my choices in life.